The present invention relates in general to telecommunications signal processing and more particularly to an apparatus and method of processing signaling bits of integrated services digital network signals.
Integrated services digital network signals typically comprise of two B-channel portions and one D-channel portion. Each B-channel portion has eight bits and the D-channel portion has two bits. The traditional base unit of transport of information within a telephony system is a digital signal level zero (DS0) signal that is eight bits in length. The DS0 signal is thus already capable of carrying intact B-channel portions. However, it typically requires a full DS0 signal to carry one D-channel portion. This situation results in a waste of three-fourths of the bandwidth of the DS0 signal. Therefore, it is desirable to maximize the use of DS0 signals when carrying D-channel portions of integrated services digital network signals.
From the foregoing, it may be appreciated that a need has arisen for a technique to efficiently process the signaling bits found within integrated services network signals. In accordance with the present invention, an apparatus and method of processing signaling bits of integrated services digital network signals are provided which substantially eliminate or reduce disadvantages and problems associated with conventional integrated services digital network signal processing.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of processing signaling bits of integrated services digital network signals that includes receiving a plurality of integrated services digital network signals. The signaling bits of each integrated services digital network signal are extracted. The extracted signaling bits are assembled into a plurality of byte-wide sections.
The present invention provides various technical advantages over conventional integrated services digital network signal processing. For example, one technical advantage is the segregation of signaling bits from data bits carried by integrated services digital network signals. Another technical advantage is to establish a separate bus for the transport of signaling bits associated with integrated services digital network signals. Yet another technical advantage is to assemble and transfer D-channel signals over fully occupied DS0 signals. Other technical advantages are readily apparent to one skilled in the art from the following figures, description, and claims.